Special Salary Adjustments, New Classes and Title Changes. Deadline is Monday, August 20, 2012

The City Charter provides that unions or departments may bring forward requests for special salary adjustments, new classes and title changes to the Civil Service Commission. In accordance with MEA’s current MOU which will expire on June 30, 2013, MEA may bring such requests to the Commission during the current fiscal year in anticipation of having any changes recommended by the Commission and accepted by the Mayor and City Council become part of a new MOU and a new Salary Ordinance effective July 1, 2013.

Deadline

Based on the schedule adopted by the Commission at its meeting on August 2, 2012, it is NOW time to submit your requests to MEA. After reading all of the information below, if you believe that a meritorious case can be made, you must fill out the attached form and submit it to MEA no later than Monday, August 20, 2012. Late requests will not be accepted. Do NOT delay.

“Reality Check”

As we begin a one year contract (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013) which includes a salary freeze and other concessions, we are all aware of the challenging climate in which we will be negotiating a new MOU for fiscal year 2014.

With these realities in mind, any job classification seeking a special salary adjustment must support the request with proof – and the burden of proof is on the employees – that BOTH recruitment and retention are documented problems for the classification. Without this proof, it is highly unlikely that the Mayor and City Council will approve the request for our new MOU and the City’s FY14 budget even if the request receives a favorable recommendation from the Commission.

Criteria:

Special Salary Adjustments: How have your duties and responsibilities changed? [Changes must show greater complexity to the work NOT merely more of it.] What additional knowledge, skills and abilities have been required of you and how were you trained to provide them? If there has been turnover in the job classification – i.e., problems retaining employees – you must provide details regarding the names of employees who have left, when, and the reasons they left. If there are recruitment problems, you must produce data detailing recruitment efforts, number of candidates, and why the current salary for the job classification is the cause of little or no interest by prospective job candidates. If you contend that there is an inappropriate supervisory differential for the job classification according to the City’s guidelines, you must provide the details related to the E-step for the highest paid classification you supervise not counting add-on pays which are excluded.

New Class: Why is a new class needed? How have your duties changed such that they differ from the duties of your current job classification? How and why are the duties more complex than the duties of others in your current class? On what basis do you justify the salary request for the proposed new class?

Title Change: Why is the requested title change more appropriate than the current title? [Remember: There are no salary changes with a title change.]

Process

Your request must be submitted through MEA and must reach MEA on or before the deadline. MEA’s role is to provide assistance and guidance to groups of employees seeking a SSA, New Class or Title Change. But the responsibility to take the lead in gathering information, doing research, and presenting detailed information in the appropriate format is yours. As you know, MEA’s resources are being devoted to numerous activities within the City which are impacting MEA-represented employees on a daily basis. Only YOU, as the subject matter expert regarding your job, can truly make the difference between success and failure in this process. And, remember, success before the Commission is not enough; the final say must come from the Mayor and City Council.

Remember also that the employee(s) have the burden of proof. Please read the criteria carefully before concluding that your request has merit. Understandably, every employee wants a salary increase to keep pace with the demands being placed on every household budget. However, this is not enough.

Fill out all of the information requested and submit to MEA by the deadline, Monday, August 20, 2012. Once your request is received, an informational packet will be mailed to you. Please call your MEA representative if you have any questions.

Special Salary Request, New Class or Title Change Request Form